After crashing in yesterday’s Qualifying, Max Verstappen fought his way through the grid, finishing the F1 2026 Australian GP in P6. The Dutchman cleared 14 positions — something he has done multiple times before in previous GPs. For that comeback drive, fans voted Verstappen as Salesforce Driver of the Day at the 2026 F1 Australian GP.
A terrible start for Verstappen at the F1 2026 Australian GP
The four-time World Champion qualified P20 at the 2026 Australian GP. Having a clean start is cruical to keep yourself in an F1 race. “I stayed out of trouble in the beginning,” says Verstappen.
From there he worked his way through to P6 as the Red Bull was clearly faster than eight other teams on the day.
“Then drove by the midfield. And at one point, I found a bit of a rhythm.”
Starting from near the back at Albert Park, Verstappen’s car was equipped with the hard tyres. Which turned out to be a bad idea because of graining and deg on the C3 compound: “I think it was quite clear that we had a lot of degradation and a lot of graining on the hard compound, which we thought was going to be better. But unfortunately, the medium was the better tyre today.”
It was not just the hard tyre that posed a problem, but also the lack of battery power during the starting procedure. He fell right to the back initially.
“[The start was] terrible. I had no battery. Somehow on the formation lap, it drained all the battery.“
Verstappen was clueless how that could have happened.
“I have no idea. I launched and I had zero battery, no power,” he added.
All that led to him believing he was last during the start, he started overtaking after a few corners.
“After a few corners [I was overtaking], but at the start I think I was last,” the 28-year-old explained.
The Red Bull driver has one simple answer for his first verdict after the first race start of the 2026 season with the new F1 regulations: “Chaos.”
“I honestly don’t really find the right words for it. For me, of course, I passed regardless because we were like two seconds a lap faster,” he adds.
Verstappen wants the racing to be better than this
It is no secret that Verstappen isn’t a fan of the new rules and regulations. After this weekend, he says that “there is a combination of things that [he and the team] have to work on” so that he could be more competitive.
During testing, Verstappen sparked heated discussions with his statement that he would not mind retiring from Formula 1 if he did not enjoy racing in it anymore. With the rule changes and new cars, does F1 have to worry about Verstappen retiring?
“I think what they should worry about is the rules. Just focus on that. They ask questions and I give my opinion of what I would like to see and what I think is better for the sport because I do care about it, I do love racing and I want it to be better than this. So let’s see what we can do. I hope that even during this year maybe we can come up with some different solutions so it becomes more enjoyable for everyone.“
Max Verstappen: “We want Formula 1 on steroids”
All the retirement talks have his fans worried that Verstappen actually could retire from F1 soon. The new rules annoy him.
“I love racing,” Verstappen states, “But we can only take so much, right?”
The Dutchman is not the only one who is criticising the new rules. He hopes that there are some changes and that the FIA takes their constructive criticism seriously.
“I think they’re willing to listen, FIA and F1 and I just hope that there is some action. It’s not that I’m the only one saying it, I think a lot of people are speaking the same. If it’s drivers, fans, we just want the best I think for the sport. It’s not that we are critical just to be critical, we are critical for a reason, we want it to be Formula 1, a proper Formula 1 on steroids. Today of course again that was not the case.”
Asked if changes can be made quickly, the 71-time race winner said: “I mean, it’s not little tweaks for sure.”
Red Bull Racing has done a good job of development ahead of F1 Australian GP
Verstappen sees potential in the RB22. The lack of pace is an issue that is fixable. He underlines that he is proud of the team, that his negativeness towards the rules and regulations does not apply to the engineers.
Red Bull went their own way and have started making their own engines. It was a pretty good start to life in Australia, even if they are not fighting for podiums right now.
“I mean we have potential in the car for sure, engine side I think we’re not too bad. At the moment I think where our pace is lacking is half-half, so half car, half engine, which is not bad. Those are things that can be overcome, it’s not shocking. That’s the thing also, I’m very negative about the rules, but I do feel really proud of the team and the engine side as well. The guys really have done an amazing job. So from that side I’m very happy to be working with them.”
Because the team did such a good job of developing the engine, Verstappen says it’s the reason they were able to be fighting with McLaren during the Australian GP. With a little improvement he hopes to be able to fight further at the front, too.
Naturally thanks to a more competitive car, he would feel more comfortable.
“I just wish that I enjoyed a little bit more driving-wise, but still they’ve done an incredible job to be where we are, to be fighting with McLaren with the current Mercedes engine. I think if we improve a little bit we can fight also a little bit further up front. Suddenly of course the world looks a bit better, I mean the rules are still the same, but the world does look a bit better in terms of how competitive we are. I hope of course that within a few races we can take a little step forward.”
Red Bull as the 3rd or 4th fastest team at 2026 Australian GP
After testing, the 2026 pecking order became clearer. Max Verstappen isn’t too disappointed with their current form.“It’s always impossible to know,” he says.“But I think after the test already, this position where we at, I would say 3rd or 4th. I think it’s not too bad,” he explains further.
Ferrari’s performance in yesterday’s Qualifying suprised Verstappen. He expected them to be quicker. The Italian team showed their pace in the race however, which did not go unnoticed by Verstappen.
“I was a bit surprised yesterday in qualifying, I thought there was a bit more. But I mean, I thought there was a little bit more to come from them, but somehow I guess it didn’t work out. But today in the race they were not too bad.”
The first 2026 F1 sprint weekend lies ahead
The season starts with a double-header, which means that the next race is already next weekend. From March 13th to 15th, F1 will race in Shanghai, China. It will be the first sprint race of the season that will take place.
With the sprint changing up the regular format, in combination with the new regulations, difficulties might be inevitable.
Verstappen is relaxed about it. “[It’s the] same for everyone. For me, I’m not really too stressed about it. Either it goes well or not,” he said with a little chuckle.
